Fox is Four

Our first baby turns four today! We celebrated yesterday with froyo and presents (don't worry, we got two of everything). We also attempted to take a few family pictures but that did not work out as well as we imagined. Fox was like a kid having a tantrum and won't let anyone take his pic. LOL

 To celebrate here on the blog, I'd like to share five random things about this little creature.
1. He is a barker.
2. He loves licking off lotion. Every damn morning.
3. He welcomes us everyday when we get home by barking like crazy.
4. He answers back to us with little growls and barks. When I yell at him, he answers back with the funniest sound as if he is defending himself. I have to maintain my composure though. LOL
5. He loves to kiss and he aims for the lips. He gives sloppy kisses too! Yeah, it gets gross sometimes.

In love yet? Follow him and Chippy on Instagram: instagram.com/foxandchippy ! :)

Last Sunday + Doggie Rescue Story

On mother's day this year, we did our annual thing of the gang coming over to our place. My sister and I prepared lunch (peacefully) while the rest cuddled with Fox (because Chippy was at the vet's office) and watched a Filipino rom-com. It was also my first time seeing my soon-to-be sister-in-law's brother because he's back from his military training and my mom's new dog (who was also at the vet's office). And yes, you did not read that wrong, my mom got herself a dog. :) But first, here is my mom looking gorgeous, as always...

Dress: Eccoci

Here's a backstory: last week, my mom was taking a break outside of her office when she saw a little fluffy dog running across the street. She tried to call the dog over and to everyone's surprise, the dog stopped, crossed the street, and submitted to her as if the dog was asking for a belly rub. Mom called me right away asking what she needs to do next since she called the number on the dog's tag and the owner was not picking up. The now ex-owner called my mom later on and said that she does not want the dog anymore. Of course, our entire family is all for mom keeping the dog. We also have ourselves convinced that mom and the dog are meant to be for each other. :)

All week last week, we've been joking about how the dog is our mother's day gift to our mom but I think it's the universe's gift to her for caring about us too much. Maybe it's time for her to get one of the things she's been wanting for the longest time. It's also the universe's way of telling her that you can't always get what you want. I say this because mom loves big dogs with dark coats. :p

Unfortunately, the newbie in the family seems to not like the boy dogs and/or being sniffed by them. She's probably still adjusting and just wants everyone to lay off of her. ;)

Here is Chippy slowly and gently making his way to the new girl so he could kiss/lick her face. Chippy loooves giving doggie kisses to Fox so we were assuming that's what he wants to do to the new girl...but she was not having it. LOL


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Five Reasons to Adopt a Pet

It's National Love Your Pet Day so it's just appropriate to talk about pets and adopting today! :)

Save a life.
You're giving another chance.  Dogs go to the shelter for various reasons but did you know that in LA, nearly 50% of pets that go to shelters are euthanized (source)? Cats' stats were worse. :( Almost shed a tear when I saw the stats, to be honest. 

A new best friend.
Adopted pets are very grateful. Shower them with love and in return, you'll have someone who will listen to you anytime of the day and who will welcome you home everyday the same way as they did the first time you left them at home. If I were single and had my own place, I could not imagine coming home to an empty apartment. Everyday, I look forward to the barking by the door and the wiggly tails...even if I was gone for 3 minutes to throw the trash out.

Someone to keep you grounded.
After adopting Fox, I've always had reality checks. Almost everyday, before I plan something or say yes to invites, I always consider my dogs. Even though I want to celebrate the little successes in life by going out somewhere, I always plan it around our routine so I don't mess up their lives, literally. Also, I think there is nothing like picking up dog poop to make you feel grounded. I literally pick up shit everyday now. 

Your life will change for the better.
I have become a lot nicer, friendlier, understanding and patient because of Fox and Chippy. My dogs are bark-y dogs. They're not very good at socializing...even with each other (they're getting there though). They bark at other dogs and people. They are both adopted and have gone through things that we have no idea about and the only thing we can do about this is train them not be crazy dogs. In a way, this has taught me to not judge people for the way they are rightaway because like that one quote picture on Pinterest says: Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle (source).

You deserve to be healthier and happier.
Even the worst people deserve to be happy and healthy. Studies have found that pet owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets (source). Based on experience, I think this is very true. I had some pretty dark days when I became unemployed and having Fox next to me all the time saved my sanity. At some point, he became my shopping buddy (thanks to places that allow dogs) because I can't leave him alone at home without feeling bad. 

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Ohana

After that post about my dogs being naughty I thought I'd share of my favorite things about our little monsters. At least once a month, my family (that includes my mom, sister and soon-to-be sister-in-law) visits these dogs and our pantry. The pantry part is a really good thing because we need a lot of help finishing everything I buy from the store. Hahaha!

Like Fox and Chippy's effect on me and Ron, they also entertain and are very effective stress relievers for my family. Fox especially, as he already knows the ways around my mom and mom the same because mom used to dog sit for us. Chippy entertains everyone by simply showing his tummy every time someone walks by him and lets anyone pick him up for some loving.

Both dogs are quirky around people and around each other and luckily, my family has picked up on almost everything these dogs are picky about. Ron and I feel like my family misses these two more than they miss us. Haha! They treat Fox and Chippy like they are their human grandsons/nephews and spoil them to bits. And I'm beyond happy that they do.

Is your doggy a part of your family too?

That One Time When My Dogs' Mission was to Test My Patience

I love my dogs. No, make that I am in love with my dogs. I adore them and if I could, I would stay at home so I can just watch them be silly. However, there are some days when they seem to be testing me. Like earlier this week.

Chippy has this thing where he jumps in front of Fox to lick Fox's face. Fox hates that. Fox hates being surprised, he hates sudden movements. When Chippy did it earlier this week, Fox freaked out and they started fighting. No biting, just straight up high-pitched barking at each other. Of course I got up and pulled the closer one (Chippy) to avoid the fight from escalating. In the process, I managed to put my index finger in Chippy's mouth while he was barking so he left a gash on me. The moment I said fuck and ouch, they both stopped hating each other and Chippy looked guilty as fuck. Strike one. 

I got home that day to find the bestest of doggy friends. Fox was even licking Chippy's face--which is rare.

When I was falling asleep while watching TV on the couch, both dogs were whining. I guess they were begging me to please go upstairs so we can all sleep. I turned everything off, went upstairs and did my nighttime rituals. I was soooo sleepy. But Fox was so irritable. They're not best friends. Again. Strike two. He would scare Chippy away from where he was even though nothing really scares Chippy other than Ron's and my voice. So I asked Fox to be quiet. He became quiet and decided to sleep under the bed...where he started sneezing like crazy, which is most likely because of the dust under there. But he won't come out so I got the treats from downstairs and when he emerged, he followed all my commands and I was able to wipe whatever was on his face that was making him sneeze.

Then there was a minute of silence. I was dozing off then Chippy started to gather all of the comforter. "This can't be what I think it is," I thought. He was trying to hump the duvet. So I had to get up again and get one of their hump toys. In the middle of Chippy's mood, Fox started to try stealing the hump toy away from Chippy. So what did I do? Get up and get hump toy #2. Strike three.

That night felt like I would never be able to sleep. We went upstairs at 1045pm, I was in bed at 11pm and was able to finally rest at 12:30am. These dogs, man. They're pieces of work.

You can follow their silliness in all of its glory here: instagram.com/foxandchippy

Tree is Up!

Sundays are made for family lunches and lazy days. After a great nap on Sunday afternoon and Ron's walk with the dogs, we finally got the courage to put up the tree. We did it in more or less an hour and that includes rearranging some furniture. (#recordtime) We tried not to make the tree look like it's vomiting ornaments and kept it minimal this year. It's still as pretty and it will for sure get anyone who comes to our home in the mood for the holidays.

The dogs were not as happy because we're not cuddling with them instead. Chippy was looking extra unhappy for being our little elf this year while Fox gave me a little pose...probably to show how thankful he is for not being this year's elf. Hahaha!

Outtakes

Because behind every cute photo of my dogs is a ridiculous, hilarious or scary picture of them doing something I was not expecting.

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." 

Marilyn Monroe

'Kay, now it's time to have a great weekend with these two monsters! :)

Taking Pictures Just Got More Fun

I ordered this bad ass of a toy last week and got it one business day ahead than scheduled. I came home on Friday, fulfilled but tired from working overtime and saw the little lens box waiting for me on the ottoman. In an instant, I forgot I was exhausted and made the dogs go to the patio to use what's left of the natural light at 6pm. Here are two of my faves where I captured the faces we see every time at least one of us comes home. :)

Got the lens from eBay for 20% off than suggested retail price, click here if you're interested.

I Like Dog Parks and I Cannot Lie

With the vet's clearance, we finally were able to take the two dogs to the dog park last weekend. It was our first time for us taking two dogs there and I would say it was some really good family time.

Fox (per usual), barked, ran, barked, barked, barked, and ran. He's such a barker to appear tough but always runs to Ron or me when he's scared. He'll fight some of his battles but he's the type who feels much safer with his humans.

Chippy, on the other hand, forgot he had humans. When Ron unleashed him, he ran straight to another dog to play. He is such a sweetheart to everyone, except for that one dog who tried to hump him and that pissed him off. They fought, but the owner was understanding and just carried his dog (1 of 3 dogs) the rest of the time. Based on our walks, I thought Chippy was scared/mad at bigger dogs, however, after this trip, the dog he ran with the most is a komondor/chow mix (see big brown/tan dog in pics) and he had no trouble dealing with her.

 

 

 

I already cannot wait to go back. <3

More on Chippy :)

Let's start this week with something really good and talk about our new dog...

He was originally named Howie by the shelter staff because he looks like a hyena-- okay, you can laugh because it's true! :) He has so many spots and has a huge spot on the top of his head, it’s hilarious! His story is a sad one though, he was rescued from the streets of Duarte, CA by a high school student. She was on her way home when he saw him and despite being covered in ticks, she picked him up and took him home. A day later or two later, he was taken to the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society---how do I know this much detail? The girl who found him saw us walking Howie (and Fox) at our city's Farmer's Market a couple of weeks ago. No joke. I got chills and got the feels when she said, "I found him," and pointed at our new little doggie. We had a great conversation with her and I think she can rest well at night now knowing that the family who adopted Howie loves him.

We went through so many names. I came up with a lot that we rejected. But as I was holding Mr. New Dog at that time on my lap (on our way to PetSmart for his first bath with us), while Fox was busy chewing on his new cow ear, we came up with Chippy and loved it!

Going home from work and school just got better and our lives just got a little bit more sunshine. 

DON’T SHOP, ADOPT.